Huffington Post To Cite Slain Fort Smith Woman

The story of a Fort Smith woman who was killed in December will be included in a Huffington Post article on gun violence and its effects on families since the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary.

The article, originally titled “The Price of ‘Freedom,’” was posted on the website Feb. 1, and has since been updated to reflect the number of reported gun deaths in the U.S. since the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary on Dec. 14.

Marquita Thompson, the cousin of 21-year-old Aleya Criswell, who was shot and killed Dec. 29 in Fort Smith, said Huffington Post reporter Jason Cherkis contacted her through a Facebook memorial page dedicated to Criswell that she operates.

At one point, the article featured a picture of Criswell, but didn’t mention her in the text, Thompson said.

“My cousin actually posted the website on my page and she was like, ‘Marquita, did you see this?’ And I hit on it,” Thompson said. “I was like, ‘Oh my God!’”

Police believe Jonathan Lewis Jackson, 23, of Fort Smith shot Criswell in the lower back while she was in a vehicle with six other people at the intersection of May Avenue and North L Street.

Sgt. Daniel Grubbs of the Fort Smith Police Department said Criswell was an innocent bystander and the victim of a prior dispute that did not involve her. Jackson pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder Jan. 9 in Sebastian County Circuit Court.

Since the incident, Thompson created the Facebook page and helped organize a candlelight vigil at Spradling Park in Criswell’s honor.

Thompson said she was surprised the Huffington Post reached out to her. Thompson, as well as Criswell’s mother, Clarissa Tucker, spoke to Cherkis in a phone interview Friday, and expect follow-up interviews Monday and Tuesday. Thompson said the website will notify her via email when the article is to be posted.

“It’s really an honor, because out of all the people that are victims of gun violence, and all the families that have been affected throughout the U.S., she got chosen,” Thompson said. “That’s all the way in Washington. They heard about her and we’re in Fort Smith, Ark., you know? So it’s amazing.

“Fort Smith is small. We’ve had a lot of devastation that has occurred with gun violence in our community, but there are bigger cities that go through this like every day, every hour, and for them to pay (attention to) a family from little old Fort Smith, Ark., and want to do a story, it’s amazing. I was shocked when I (saw) it, and then when he sent me that email wanting to interview me I was like, ‘Oh, my God!’”

Thompson attributed the cause of gun violence to the wrong people carrying them, and said she hopes the affected families will reach out to one another.

“It’s not the guns; it’s the wrong people with the guns. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not against guns,” Thompson said. “Hopefully, with all this being done … if a family has to go through something like we’re going through … I want them to be able to (reach out), if they need to get in touch with us.”

Thompson said Criswell’s death was especially painful for her family because she was innocent and anticipates that a wide, national audience will soon know her story.

“She had no criminal background, and for her to just be turning 22 she still had her whole life ahead of her,” Thompson said. “Everybody wants to know what happened to this pretty girl with this big, pretty smile that died so young. And they will know.”